


The Guardian Agent

by ConstableCabbage



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: AU, Aggressive Denial of Feelings, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Falling In Love, Forced Road Trips, Loss of Luggage, M/M, Malcolm doesn't know how to interact with children but he's trying to OK?, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Remember the fight in Harbinger?, Sharing a Bed, Shopping Shinanigans, Trip fancies himself a matchmaker and Malcolm is not impressed, Well it happens here with a much different ending, escalator kiss la the winter soilder, past!OFC/J.Hayes, past!one-sided!Malcolm Reed/Charles Tucker III, the kids totally ship it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9979808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstableCabbage/pseuds/ConstableCabbage
Summary: Malcolm Reed is a secret agent turned “Guardian Agent”, and Jay Hayes is a single father of twins (1 boy, 1 girl aged 7) on a small farm (His wife died 2 or 3 years prior). Jay has discovered something terrible about the food industry and is being vocal enough that people of great power want him dead. Reed’s assignment is to protect Hayes from this fate, but he finds himself doing what he swore he would never do again: Fall in love.   (Also the kids totally ship it Trip plays matchmaker)For crying_lestat and DanofVulcan





	1. How we met

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crying_lestat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crying_lestat/gifts), [DanOfVulcan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanOfVulcan/gifts).



> Hello, This is my first fanfiction I've done (well, for ENT) so I'd love to get some constructive criticism so I can improve my writing xxx

Agent Malcolm Reed was curious as to the nature of his next assignment.

  
He hadn’t been out in the field for over a month, and he was getting restless. Then on a wednesday in mid February Archer called him down to his office;

  
“Agent Reed, I have a new assignment for you,”

  
Archer told Malcolm as he tossed him a brown folder across the table.

  
“Are you aware of the F.A.L.C.O.N. project?”

  
Malcolm nodded,

  
“Yes sir; the implementation of this project could change agriculture forever, and not in an ethical or safe way. I disagree with it sir; is my assignment to stop this F.A.L.C.O.N. protect in it’s tracks?”

  
Agent Reed should have known better than to get his hopes up.

  
“No; that will be left to Agent’s Sato and Mayweather;” Archer paused to drink some coffee out of a silver mug.

  
“His name is Jeremiah Hayes; a former Major in the marines, He’s a farmer now in Maine, and he’s getting vocal about the F.A.L.C.O.N. project. It seems you two share the same ethics. We’ve intercepted plans of his assassination; it seems that XINDI perceives him as a threat.Your assignment is to protect him, and find out why they think this to be so.”

  
Archer paused again and winced. Agent Reed knew that wince; it meant something that Archer knew he wouldn’t like was going to be said. He stayed silent, and waited;

  
“He’s a single father of two kids; twins aged 7, I think named Samuel and Alysa.”

  
There it was. Archer knew that he didn’t do well with children, but he couldn’t argue with his boss.

  
“Aye sir. When do I start?”

  
Archer handed him a slip of paper, an airplane ticket to Maine, first class seat.

  
“This flight to Maine leaves in four hours; I want you to be on it. Good luck, Agent Reed.”

  
Agent Reed nodded and left Archer’s office behind with a plane ticket to Maine in his hand, silently stewing in anger.

He was a bloody secret agent, not a babysitter!

* * *

 

“DAD!”

  
That was the only warning Jay got before his two seven year olds jumped on him early Thursday morning.

  
“...Morning you two.” He breathed out; they were sitting on his chest. “I take it it’s time for school?”

  
They got off him and pulled at his hands, trying to make him sit up by sheer seven year old strength.

  
“No Dad,” Samuel began.  
“There’s a man in a fancy suit at the door for you.” Alysa finished

.  
“Well then, I guess I’d better go see what he wants, huh?” Despite his easytone, Jay felt a creeping anxiety; 'what if it was XINDI?'

  
He walked to the front door, and looked through the peephole; the man behind it was in a tailored black suit and tie, his dark hair was near impeccable, and his eyes were hidden with a pair of dark sunglasses.

Before he could change his mind, he opened the door.

  
The man flashed a familiar looking gold badge,  
“Good morning; I am Agent Reed of STARFLEET. Mr. Hayes, I presume?”

His accent was English, crisp and clear. Sexy too; wait..what? No, not sexy....

Jay nodded.

  
“I’ll get straight to the point then: Mr. Hayes, your life is in danger from XINDI. You and your kids need to leave here and come with me; immediately.”

  
Samuel and Alysa peeked out from behind his legs, peering up at the fleeter with their hazel eyes large in wonder.

  
“Are you a secret agent?” Samuel asked, shyly.

  
“Yes, I am.” Agent Reed replied, sounding off guard.

  
“COOL. Dad he’s just like James Bond!!!” Samuel squealed.

  
Jay would have killed for a camera, because the look on the agent’s face at his son’s comment was absolutely priceless.

  
“Um, go pack your bags you two; I’ll join you in a minute.”

  
“But-”

He shot them both a look.

“...Alright Dad.” the two of them scampered off, Alysa’s brown pigtails swishing as she ran.  
Jay smiled, slightly embarrassed.

  
“Sorry about that, they just saw Skyfall yesterday, and they loved it.”

  
“Perfectly alright, Mr. Hayes. I suggest you better pack a bag now; we have a long way to go.”

  
His tone said that he wasn’t amused by his son’s antics, and Jay had to excuse himself to pack his bag before he lost it in front of the fleeter.

 


	2. (Forced) Road Trip

Malcolm could tell that Hayes had been fighting a grin, and for some reason it didn’t make him as angry as it did when Agent Tucker gave him a mug with ‘007, Licence to kill’ on it; he seemed to find it terribly amusing when he didn’t know why people were sniggering as he drank out of it. Malcolm scowled at the memory, cursing Trip and his childish antics; sometimes he wondered why he was friends with him. He was so lost in thought, he was startled when he felt something small grab his leg. He looked down, and there was Hayes’ daughter grinning at him like he was a close relative and not someone she literally just met five minutes ago.

“Hi! I’m Alysa Sarah Hayes! What’s your name?”

She had a pink suitcase on the step beside her, and was holding a stuffed rabbit in her clutches.

“Malcolm. Malcolm Reed. Nice to meet you... Alysa.”

“I like you! You and my daddy are gonna be best friends for ever and ever!”

She let go of his leg, and cuddled her rabbit. Oh boy. This was going to be a very long assignment; Malcolm was starting to wish that he could have stayed at his desk doing paperwork.

Jay and his son came to the front door less than 10 minutes later, the boy toting a Car's brand bag and Mr. Hayes holding a teddy bear, a navy backpack slung over his shoulder, and was pulling a brown suitcase behind him.

“Well Agent Reed, I guess we should go?”

Malcolm nodded, led them to a sleek vehicle parked in their drive and helped Hayes put the suitcases in the trunk.

“May I ask where we are going? Or is that classified?”

Malcolm smirked at him, closed the trunk, and got in the driver's seat.

“Get in Hayes, we don’t have a lot of time before XINDI realizes you aren’t where you usually are.”

* * *

 

_***TIME SKIP*** _

* * *

“ARE WE THERE YET?” for the _100th time in 2 days of travel_ , the twin chorus was slowly driving Malcolm insane; he was sure he had never felt so happy so see another hotel in his life. Being in the car with two 7 year old children (and their father, for that matter) was more than the agent could bear. He pulled into the parking lot and he saw Hayes breathe a silent sigh of relief.

 

The lobby had white tile floors, which the wheels of their luggage clicked rhythmically against. It was quaint, and well lit, a counter with a mousy looking woman behind it; she looked up and smiled so wide, a crocodile would have been jealous.

“Hello! Welcome, welcome! My name is Melissa, you want a hotel room for the night, yes? 120$ please.”

She was perky, fast talking and Russian; Malcolm almost didn’t understand what she was saying, but he got the gist. 120$=Hotel room.

Hayes and he were handed the EC-keys* for room 204, and the two men led the children to the elevator, pressing the “2” for the second floor.

* * *

 

Mel smiled to herself, ‘Adorable family; I wonder how long the dad’s were together before they had children...’

* * *

 

**_*BEEP*_ **

Malcolm opened the door the their hotel room and just about had a heart attack; Two queen sized beds.

He and Hayes exchanged looks, and both of them were thinking something along the lines of accepting the fate that had been given to them. Samuel and Alysa ran into the room and jumped on the bed near the window, giggling with joy and claiming the bed as theirs. Samuel got of the bed and ran to his father, tugging on his pant leg,

“Daddy, can we watch TV?”

Hayes smiled, and Malcolm found that he liked it when he smiled.

“Of course Sammy, but only 30 minutes, ok?”

His son beamed back at him, “Ok Dad!”

He rejoined his sister on the bed, remote in hand and turned on the TV; a movie with a boy named “Kevin” was on. 30 minutes later, all of them were in their PJ’s read to go to bed.

‘It’s only for the purpose of sleep, that’s all it is.’ Malcolm thought. He and Hayes slipped under the covers, turning away from each other and tried to pretend the other wasn’t there.

“Night Daddy, night Agent Reed!”

“Good night, you two. Love you.”

“Night.”

Malcolm turned off the light, and fell asleep.

* * *

 

Jay didn't want to open his eyes; it was so warm in his bed. He was holding something warm...and breathing?

Slowly he started to remember, and his eyes shot open to see himself cuddling a secret agent, who was still asleep.

It was kind of cute, actually;his hair which yesterday was perfectly groomed was now a soft poof of bed head. 

'cute? What the hell am I thinking?'

He shook his head to rid himself of the thought, and slowly extracted himself from the not cute agent.

Jay decided that he was just going to pretend that didn't happen.

Samuel and Alysa were still fast asleep.

Jay smiled, grabbed a change of clothes, and went to have an early shower.

 


	3. The Shower of Realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi; sorry it took so long, I've so been busy.  
> My update schedule is super wonky at this point xx

Malcolm woke to the sound of a shower turning on.

He sat up and blinked away the sleep in his eyes. Coffee, then a shower once Hayes is finished. Then wake up the kids, go to breakfast and then back on the road.

Damn, he sounded like a suburban mum planning trying to organise her family.

The coffee has horrible, even by a hotel’s standards. Malcolm grimaced as he gulped it down.

The shower turned off, and the door opened to show Hayes in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Good morning; I forgot to...um… my clothes.”

His bare skin was slightly flushed from the heat of the shower. 

Malcolm was sure his face matched the skin of a tomato, and he hid his face in his mug to try and disguise it. He made a sound of vague agreement, and Hayes went away to get dressed.

Malcolm hurried into the bathroom, locked the door, stripped, and got in the shower, and blasted the hot water on full.

He was falling, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

‘Damn it, Malcolm. You promised.’

He remembered the last time he had unrequited feelings for a man, and he remembered how his heart was broken, and how he promised himself that he would never again fall for someone who was unattainable.

Memories flowed like the water down his back, memories of Charles “Trip” Tucker the Third.

_“Aw, come on Mal! Loosen up a bit; have some fun!”_

Trip would always say, in that southern accent.

Trip was his best friend; he still was, the feelings having gone away (after many years of pining) and that was all he was now: a friend.

Falling in love with Trip was filled with denial, longing glances, and almost confessions of love.

He couldn’t do this again. He promised himself.

Angry tears blurred his vision.

‘Damn it, Malcolm!’

He turned the water off.

* * *

 

When Reed stepped out of the bathroom, Jay had put on his glasses was in a green sweater and khaki pants, and his kids were awake. To his surprise, Alysa grinned and ran over to the agent holding up her arms. Hesitantly, he picked her up and she hugged his neck. Agent Reed gave a little smile as he held her, looking domestic in a grey sweater, dark wash jeans and round gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Jay could not believe his eyes; his daughter was a very shy person and usually, it took a while before she trusted them enough to hug them. Very much like her mother, he knew.

Any questions Jay asked Reed over the past 2 days were answered with “yes”, “no”, a nod, or (if he was lucky) a full sentence. Jay got the impression that the agent was cold, aloof, and uncaring; and it was starting to get on his nerves.

_‘What is his deal?’_

Then he saw Reed put down Alysa, and he looked at Jay through gold frames, with a neutral expression.

"We need to leave; we have a rendezvous with Agent Tucker to make."

"Mistah Reed, What's a 'rendezvous'?" Samuel asked as he tilted his head inquisitively.

"A rendezvous, Samuel, is an another way of saying to meet someone at a certain time at a certain place."

"Oh. So it's like a date?" Sammy’s eyes glittered.

Jay just about spat out his coffee at the look on Reed's face.

"Um, sure; a date. Let's go."

Jay led the way downstairs.

* * *

 

Breakfast had been... interesting, Malcolm reflected.

People smiled when they saw them, and until one couple that they were chatting with said something, he wasn't sure why.

_“So how long have you and your partner been together?”_

_Malcolm thought quickly, trying to hide his shock._

_“Nearly 2 years now, isn’t that right love?”_

_Jay was blushing and just nodded; the kids were giggling,_

_The woman, Sarah smiled and looked at her husband._

_“I wish we still had our kids; our kids moved out 2 years ago. You’ll miss them when your kids move out, trust me.”_ _  
_ _Malcolm nodded and so did Hayes._

_“So how long have you and George been married, Sarah?” Hayes asked, speaking for the first time in a few minutes._

_“George and I have been married for 13 years, next week.”_

_“Congratulations!”_

_Malcolm meant it._

_“Frankly it’s a miracle she’s put up with me for so long.” George grinned._

_Sarah got a little smirk on her face,_

_“So am I George.”_

_George threw back his head and laughed heartily._

A song cut through his remembrance of breakfast with the Dennis’,

 **_“_ ** **_Can you feel the love tonight / The peace the evening brings / The world for once in perfect harmony / With all its living things.”_ **

_‘Oh_ _hell no.’_

**Author's Note:**

> You can expect an update in a week or so!  
> xxx  
> Alex


End file.
